Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Vanuatu
conventional short form: Vanuatu
former: New Hebrides
Government type:
parliamentary republic
Capital:
Port-Vila (Efate)
Administrative divisions:
6 provinces; Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea, Torba
Independence:
30 July 1980 (from France and UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 30 July (1980)
Constitution:
30 July 1980
Legal system:
unified system being created from former dual French and British systems
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Father John BANI (since 25 March 1999)
elections: president elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the presidents of the regional councils; election for president last held 25 March 1999 (next to be held NA April 2004); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament from among its members; election for prime minister last held 2 August 2002 (next to be held NA May 2006)
election results: Father John BANI elected president on second ballot (24 March 1999) after the first ballot (17 March 1999) did not have any candidate with the required two-thirds majority; percent of electoral college vote - NA%
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, responsible to Parliament
head of government: Prime Minister Edward Nipake NATAPEI (since 13 April 2001, reelected NA June 2002); Deputy Prime Minister Ham LINI (since NA November 2003)
Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament (52 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 2 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2006)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP 15, VP 14, NUP 8, VRP 3, MPP 3, VGP 3, other and independent 6; note - political party associations are fluid
note: the National Council of Chiefs advises on matters of culture and language
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, three other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission)
Political parties and leaders:
Jon Frum Movement [Song KEASPAI]; Melanesian Progressive Party or MPP [Barak SOPE]; National United Party or NUP [NA]; Union of Moderate Parties or UMP [Serge VOHOR]; Vanuaaku Party (Our Land Party) or VP [Edward NATAPEI]; Vanuatu Republican Party or VRP [Maxime Carlot KORMAN]; Greens (Vanuatu) [NA]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
ACCT, ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, NAM, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Vanuatu does not have an embassy in the US; it does, however, have a Permanent Mission to the UN
Diplomatic representation from the US:
the US does not have an embassy in Vanuatu; the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to Vanuatu
Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) all separated by a black-edged yellow stripe in the shape of a horizontal Y (the two points of the Y face the hoist side and enclose the triangle); centered in the triangle is a boar's tusk encircling two crossed namele leaves, all in yellow
